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Sergeant Caffran
Sergeant Dermon Caffran was a squad leader in Meryn's E Company, and one of the original Tanith in the Tanith 1st regiment. He was one of the youngest original foundees at just 18, with only Brin Milo being more junior. He was a trooper in Major Rawne's platoon before his promotion as part of the organisation of the 81st/1st, and retained his NCO post following it's disbandment. He was popular among the Ghosts for his fair and friendly attitude, and had a close relationship with Tona Criid that saw him become the surrogate father of Dalin and Yoncy Criid. He was one of the best tread-fether operators within the regiment and acquired something of a reputation for his aim. He was shot with a fallen squad mate's lasgun and killed by a civilian child (aged 10) during the Liberation of Gereon. Appearance Caffran is described as being quite small and compact, short for a Tanith, with a thin, handsome face. He usually doned a shaved head. He had a blue dragon tattoo on his temple. Personality Caffran was a fairly polite and friendly type, with a sense of kindness and honour which eventually led to his relationship with Criid. Despite this, he was very efficient and could fight as well as any other Tanith, a testament to his placement in Rawne's 3rd Platoon. This allowed him to display a degree of fighting courage without resorting to aggressive behaviour exhibited by the likes of Feygor and Brostin. He exhibits great intelligence and command potential at times and only his age seemed to prevent him from getting an earlier promotion. This seemed particularly true at Oskray Island. Early Life & Background Much of Caffran's life on Tanith is not known, although he was an apprentice engineer in the wood mills of the Tanith outlying towns. It is also known that he had a lover, named Laria. He joined the regiment as part of the founding at 18. The Tanith 1st Following the re-organisation of the regiment, Caffran was one of the youngest men, along with the likes of Meryn and Domor. He was folded into 3rd Platoon, Rawne's group, as a trooper. Early Victories During the assault on the Bokore dam on Voltemand, Caffran and Gades was pinned behind a stone pillar during early exchanges, and Caffran was able to join Colonel Corbec's brutal counter attack. He nearly drowned later after the sluices were opened, and was helped by Meryn. (A Blooding, 1999) During the aerial assault on Nero hive on Caligula, Caffran was in the drop ship which swerved off course and ended up in a subterranean forest hollow. He was part of Rawne's patrol that ran into the initial fire-fight with Chaos forces, and escaped with the rest of the Ghosts when they discovered a shuttle. (The Hollows of Hell, 1997) Caffran was later part of the detail sent from Nero to Calphernia as an escort for a relief convoy, led by Bragg. Caffran shared an outrider bike with Meryn, acting as driver. They rescued Mkendrick during the ambush, and survived the engagement when air cover arrived. (That Hideous Strength, 1998) Caffran was part of the volunteer detail who stayed behind at the aid station on Nacedon to protect Dorden and his patients, under the command of Corbec. He was part of the vicious night-long gun battle to defend the station and it's Volpone patients. (Blood Oath, 1998) Fortis Binary While acting as a messenger, Caffran was invited to have an Officer's breakfast with Gaunt in his command station at the Tanith section of trenchline. While enjoying a meal he was unaccustomed to, he had a conversation with Gaunt regarding their surroundings when Milo predicted the Shriven assault. Their line was heavily shelled, and Caffran followed Gaunt out into the ensuing carnage. After being knocked down by a shockwave, he was helped up by Gaunt and joined the counter attack. Caffran ended up in a group led by Major Rawne, which included Feygor, Varl and Larkin. As they pushed further into enemy territory, Caffran was forced to tend to Varl when his shoulder was vaporised. After Varl was taken in by medics, Caffran pushed on but was cut off from the group by more shell fire. Some time later, Caffran found himself alone in the wastelands, believing that the rest of his unit was dead. Disarmed, he ran into a Vitrian soldier named Zogat, and the two elected to take shelter in a crater as the bombardment continued. After a while, the two had a conversation about their respective regiments, and their attitudes towards war. Caffran told Zogat the story of Tanith's demise, the first time he had related these events, and realised he was becoming angry with the memories. He denied hating Gaunt for the choice to abandon Tanith, though he acknowledged that there was a part of him that would never forgive the Commissar. When the shellfire stopped, Caffran and Zogat made their way back to Imperial lines, contemplating the fact that they may be the only survivors of the battle. Both later rejoined their units after the Tanith/Vitrian force destroy the Shriven's bunker network. (First and Only) Category:Troopers Category:Sergeants Category:Tanith Born Category:Deceased